Player of the Year Watch: Midseason Edition

March Madness may be about basketball, but women’s lacrosse has seen its fair share of exciting upsets and surprises this last couple weeks. The top-20 this season has constantly seemed in flux, and the Player of the Week watch is no different.

It is interesting what a year makes. Four of last year’s Tewaaraton finalists came back this year, but I have just two of them in the current top-ten. It is a testament to how well some players have performed this year. We are a little more than halfway through the season, so let’s take a look at our updated Player of the Year Watch:

1. Alex Aust, Maryland, Senior, Attack
Aust’s biggest competition for the Tewaaraton may be on her own team, but her role as Maryland’s quarterback has helped her put up staggering numbers. For a Maryland offense that averages over 16-and-a-half goals a game, she leads the team with 37 goals, 35 assists and 72 total points, and no one else on the team has more than 41 combined points! Recently she put up nine points against William & Mary off four goals and five assists, even causing two turnovers on the ride. And if nothing else, she is number one in Division I in points per game.

2. Shannon Gilroy, Florida, Sophomore, Midfielder
The Gators sport a team-oriented offense, with their top five scorers all standing between 28-39 points. So you could pick a number of Florida players for this list, but Gilroy stands as the top offensive catalyst on goals with 34 and draw controls with 35, each team-highs, even causing 11 turnovers. She has often put up big numbers against Florida’s toughest opponents, including torching Dartmouth for five goals on six shots and a six-point performance against Ohio State last Saturday. A number of Florida players could be on this list, and it is difficult to determine which one, if any, is the best Gator.

3. Michelle Tumolo, Syracuse, Senior, Attack
Syracuse has only played six games so far (Florida has played 13 for sake of comparison), but Tumolo has still tallied up 14 goals and 11 assists in five games. In the Big East opener for the Orange, Tumolo racked up a pair of goals and four assists in the victory over UConn as Syracuse gave the Huskies their first loss. Tumolo and her teammates better be ready though as Syracuse will play 11 games from March 27th through April 28th.

4. Katie Schwarzmann, Maryland, Senior, Midfield
When Stony Brook played stall ball against Maryland and limited the amount of shots, Schwarzmann made hers count with three goals on four attempts, including a pair of free position opportunities, adding an assist. The reigning Tewaraaton winner still stands as one of the best two-way midfielders in the game, and she has earned 41 points, including 28 goals. She helps an offense that scores over 16.5 goals a game and a defense that allows under eight goals a contest.

5. Kara Cannizzaro, North Carolina, Senior, Midfielder
After losing their opening game, the Tar Heels have rolled off nine straight victories, and their all-around midfielder Kara Cannizzaro has been a major contributor on both sides of the ball. She not only leads North Carolina with 27 goals, she has also scooped up 16 ground balls and caused 12 turnovers. She had a goal and an assist in North Carolina game-ending 4-0 run to complete the 11-10 comeback win over Cornell, finishing with six points and two caused turnovers in the victory.

6. Mikey Meagher, Florida, Senior, Goalie
Though much of the attention on Florida goes to the offense, Meagher is a virtual brick wall inbetween the pipes. No Florida opponent has scored more than 10 goals against the Gators this season, and six of the 13 has scored five goals or less. Meagher has a 52% save percentage and allowed under six goals per contest and could be an X-factor in the NCAA Tournament. No goalkeeper has ever won the Tewaaraton Trophy. Her backup is pretty capable as well: freshman Mary-Sean Wilcox has played 160 minutes as a reserve, saving 53% of shots.

7. Erin Fitzgerald, Northwestern, Senior, Attack
Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller saw Fitzgerald as the leader of the offense in the preseason, and looks like the senior has found her groove. In the past three games she scored five goals against Navy, five against Johns Hopkins and six against Harvard. In eight games she has scored 28 goals and scooped up 14 ground balls. The Wildcats still have yet to go through the toughest parts of their schedule, but if Fitzgerald keeps up this pace, this will help out the Wildcats immensely.

8. Jasmine DePompeo, Navy, Senior, Attack
Navy’s close loss to Northwestern gave the Mids a lot of respect, and the team’s top scorer has been a machine. DePompeo has combined to score 68 points this year, including a team-best 35 goals and 33 assists, shooting near 70%. In the team’s 11 games, she has scored at least seven points, including eight in the game against Northwestern with five goals and three assists. So long as Navy wins the Patriot League, DePompeo’s name should be among the top when the season concludes.

9. Claire Petersen, Stony Brook, Senior, Attack
It still remains to be seen how good Stony Brook is, but no doubt that Petersen is one of the best in the land. As Coach Joe Spallina said in the IL podcast, all teams that play Stony Brook faceguard Petersen, and despite that she is one of the top scorers in Division I with 20 goals and 31 assists. She scored a goal and an assist in the team’s loss to Maryland, but her highlight game came against Longwood, where she set the D-I record with 11 assists, adding two goals. With the America East schedule coming up, she could rack up many more points before the season is over.

10. Lindsay Toppe, Cornell, Sophomore, Attack
Despite a recent loss to Penn, Cornell has still gotten off to a great start to the season with a win over Penn State and a one-goal loss to North Carolina. And Toppe, who has racked up 30 goals in her first eight games, is a big part of that. She earned 16 points combined in her first two games and got a hat trick in the win over Penn State. This season, the sophomore has gotten at least three goals in seven of her first eight games.